In this episode of his "Thinking Out Loud" series, Double D uses a memorandum from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, coupled with other sources, to examine the nature and breadth of U.S. technological and cultural hegemony and how this hegemony relates to the American Empire as a whole.

Jumping in to the video, Double D recaps some of the discussion from the previous two episodes, before starting an analysis of the Plaza Accords and the Fairchild Agreement. Citing an article from Los Angeles Times, printed in 1987, he outlines how Japan was outcompeting the United States semi-conductor and microchip companies. A realization that lead U.S. corporations, in conjunction with the Defense Department and the Intelligence Community, to hobble Japanese financial markets as well as their high-tech industries; forcing them to open up their markets to U.S. industrial competition as well as financial speculation.

Double D also outlines the various other ways the United States engages in protectionism. He insists that the "free-market" is an egregious lie, and shows how increasingly U.S. tech firms amount to nothing more than financialized conglomerates. Using Apple as an example, he explains how Apple does not manufacture products, provide research and development, or ship their own products; rather third party corporations do all the productive work, while Apple Corporation receives "rent" on their intellectual property.

Double D goes on to explain how the same scheme used to hobble Japanese competition is being weaponized once again in the ongoing trade war with China. He highlights the recent barring or condemnation of Chinese firms such as Huawei or TikTok. He scoffs at rhetoric around this trade war, where the U.S. claims "the protection of democracy" or ensuring "national security" around these bans, noting that the situation really constitutes protectionism for American corporations which are increasingly no longer innovative or competitive on the global stage. He points out that this "high-tech economic war" has higher stakes for the U.S. Empire beyond controlling global markets, acknowledging that much of the recent "Chip War" rests on the fact that U.S. military hegemony is rooted in having access to cheap microchips as well as other tech commodities which are essential for military hardware and AI.

Moving on, Double D attempts to provide some analysis which shows the conjunction between U.S. technological hegemony and its global surveillance state; noting the ties between the Intelligence Community and Tech Giants such as Twitter, Facebook, and Google. He goes on to outline the history of the U.S. surveillance state, noting the revelations brought about by Edward Snowden, as well as recent leaks which show that the United States has been spying on its European Allies, including French Presidents and Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Ending the discussion on technological hegemony, Double D begins to analyze cultural hegemony. He begins by describing the "culture industrial complex." That is the relationships between Hollywood, Mass Media, the Intelligence Community, and the political class; and how this industrial complex is used to instill "cultural hegemony." Next he plays a brief video outlining Antonio Gramsci's theory of cultural hegemony, which explains how the dominant ideology of the ruling class is trickled through stories and images to become a "common-sense", that the majority of people will never question. Double D relates this to U.S. political culture as well, explaining how the same process, the same "spectacle" is played out via mass media. He ends the video by playing a brief explainer-visualizer that outline the principles of Noam Chomsky's "Manufacturing Consent", which shows on the mass media corporations act as a filter through which all political discourse must be sieved.

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In this episode of his "Thinking Out Loud" series, Double D uses the recently release memorandum from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (CMFA to outline arguments against United States military and economic hegemony, hedging the discussion with additional source material.

Double D opens the video by recapping some of the points made in Part I of the United States Hegemony series, before diving in to quotations from the CMFA memorandum outlining military hegemony. He outline the long history of American conquest, noting that the United States was founded entirely on westward and colonial expansion in conjunction with slavery and genocide. He suggests that this policy, become now a cultural fixation, has persisted into the modern era; resulting in hundreds of wars, coups, military interventions, and economic warfare.

Double D uses a map and series of graphics from the "Ubique American Geographic Society" to visualize the American Empire, highlighting 800+ military bases, with nearly 200,000 U.S. soldiers occupying countries from Europe, to Africa, to the Far East. He highlights the concentration of troops in the areas dividing Western to Eastern Europe, West Asia, and in and around China and South East Asia. He insists that this is a policy of Imperial encirclement, meant to curtail the spheres of influence of potential rival powers such as Russia or China. He draws attention to the issues surrounding these U.S. military bases, insisting that they act as an occupying force that helps to coerce foreign governments, nominally called "allies", into marching lock step with American Imperial designs. He also highlights abuses and exploitation surrounding American military bases, including instances of sexual assault, violence on native peoples, severe environmental damage, accidental deaths caused by military hardware, and even cases of murder. He insists that a large portion of the population in these occupied countries, i.e., Okinawa, the Philippines, Pacific Islands, and South Korea; have called for the immediate dismantling of these military bases.

Moving on, Double D ruminates on the nature of the American Empire and its crimes against humanity. He notes that the Third Reich was greatly inspired by the American Project of colonialism; and uses this to explore how fascism amounts to the process of colonialism turned inward. He asks, what is colonialism, if not the genocide, apartheid, and political and economic subjugation used in perpetuity on the colonies, turned inward to populations living within the imperial core of the U.S. and Western Europe. He ruminates on the sheer scale and volume of violence employed by the empire in its wars in East Asia and West Asia, citing statistics that suggest millions were killed and that tens of millions were displaced.

Stepping away from statistics, Double D opts to show and discuss some graphic imagery depicting the horrors of American Empire. First, showing paintings from a Korean artist depicting American G.I.'s executing families and raping women. He also shows a painting from Pablo Picasso, titled "The Massacre in Korea" which shows U.S. soldiers executing pregnant women and children. Moving on to America's Wars in the "Middle East" he shows leaked photographs from the infamous Abu Ghraib black site prison; which depicts unimaginable scenes of torture and humiliation inflicted on Iraqis by U.S. military personnel. He then shows photographs from the American War in Vietnam, highlighting the immolation of women and children with napalm; and the use of the notorious defoliant Agent Orange, which left huge swathes of Vietnams robust agricultural regions inarable, and the past use of which is still resulting in children being born with mutations, including their being born without the higher functions of their brain.

Rounding off the video, Double D examines U.S. economic hegemony, showing how the United States has weaponized the supremac

In this episode of his "Thinking Out Loud" series, Double D examines a memorandum from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs which outlines and condemns United States Hegemony. Double D uses alternative sources and analysis to fact check and add more perspective to the document.

Jumping in to the video, Double D reads excerpts from the Chinese Foreign Ministry memorandum, outlining the "five pillars of U.S. Hegemony", political, military, economic, technological, and cultural. Double D highlights the U.S. abuse of political hegemony, citing color revolutions, which he examines further using a political analysis published in the Westminster Papers by Professor Gerald Sussman. He shows how the U.S. will use mass propaganda, front funding organizations, and public manipulation to turn social movements in a country into a push for regime change. Using the Westminster analysis, Double D cements the fact that despite "democracy" rhetoric surrounding color revolutions, the vast majority of resources dumped in to this political engineering revolves around "free market" reforms.

Moving on, Double D examines the history of the United States abusing its political hegemony to manipulate international diplomacy. He starts by focusing on the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), showing how the U.S. repeatedly used domestic partisanship as an excuse to slow diplomacy around the banning of chemical and biological weapons. He shows how the U.S. used its political influence to secure "special considerations" around the CWC, ensuring that the U.S. answered to no-one surrounding chemical weapon testing or disarmament verification. He notes also that the U.S. secured the right to determine which sites could be inspected. Using a resource from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Double D shows how even with "full compliance" on the CWC, the United States has secured the capacity to continue developing and mobilizing certain chemical and biological weapons systems.

Double D then goes on to examine the United States withdrawal from international nuclear weapons treaties, citing the "Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty" as well as the Open-Skies Treat. Double D uses this example to examine United States Nuclear Policy, quoting both Biden and the State Department in the use of "first-strike policy", noting that the United States is the only country on Earth to suggest that they may use nuclear weapons to preserve national interests, rather than a policy of simple deterrence under Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) stance, which is canon for most countries. Double D then cites the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft so examine times throughout history that the United States has engaged in Nuclear Brinksmanship by threatening to use nuclear weapons, dating as recently as the Clinton Administration, who threatened North Korea with warheads if they didn't abandon their nuclear reactor program.

Segueing from nuclear policy, Double D examines how the U.S. stance has been implemented in the Indo-Pacific region. Citing an article from Nikkei-Japan, he outlines the U.S. policy of "Nuclear Encirclement", showing how the United States has invested tens of billions of dollars to develop a "precision-strike missile system" in the first island chain surrounding China in conjunction with a second island chain air defense system. Double D explains how this is an attempt to secure "nuclear primacy" in the region, by implementing first-strike capabilities that could destroy China's nuclear infrastructure before they have the chance to retaliate. Double D asks his audience to consider the existential and suicidal nature of such a policy, and asks them to consider how the U.S. would react to a similar policy in the Caribbean.

Rounding off the video, Double D examines the argument presented in the memorandum that claims "the U.S. uses a false democracy vs authoritarianism rhetoric" to justif

In this episode of his "Thinking Out Loud" series, Double D ruminates on the ever growing eviction crisis in the United States, while also lampooning a story about a "Landlord Self Defense Course."

Jumping in to the video, Double D provides a brief overview of the eviction crisis, then jumps in to providing recent eviction statistics from cities and counties throughout the country. He sites record setting eviction rates in Arizona, California, Minnesota, Nevada, Texas, New York, and others; he notes that many of these areas are facing eviction rates as high, or higher, than during the 2008 Financial Crisis. He notes that this trend promises to continue, as inflation, a stagnant economy, and failed political priorities carry on. He points out that the United States is one of the few countries on Earth that does not, at least in some sense, guarantee housing as a human right, and that the lack of economic rates in the United States contributes to the anemic condition of its democracy.

Next, Double D examines an article from Truthout, which outlines the use of militarized police in the ongoing eviction crisis. He highlights the story of housing rights organization, "Moms For Housing" which was subject to a highly publicized police raid for squatting on an investor owned property in Oakland, California. He points out that the excessive police presence, which involved assault weapons and armored vehicles, amounted to a "public lynching", a political statement made by local officials, warning the working class of the consequences of trying to resist capitalist domination.

Moving on, Double D plays video clips from the "Moms for Housing" incident, emphasizing some of the causes of the housing crisis in the United States; namely the rise of massive real estate investment firms which have turned housing in to a speculative commodity. He notes that this process leaves hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of residential and commercial spaces vacant, as capitalists bide their time to maximize profit, all while millions of Americans live on the street.

Double D goes on to examine the interwoven nature of the housing crisis and the rise of militarized policing in the United States. He affirms the reality that as capital continues to conglomerate into massive firms like Blackrock and Vanguard, leaving more and more working people dispossessed, rising police budgets, and increasingly militarized police units, exist to quash the growing dissent of those who have fallen through the cracks of capitalist society. He insists that police in capitalist societies exist solely to enforce unjust property relations, claiming that they have become an occupying force in urban centers, particularly in predominantly black and brown communities. He jokes that squad cars have "to serve and protect" stenciled along their side, saying "yes, to serve you an eviction notice, and to protect private property."

Double D insists that this sort of housing system need not exist, that their are common sense solutions to the housing and eviction crisis, but that only through the building and organization of working class power can we advocate for them in a meaningful way. He suggests that tenants unions, housing co-operatives, rent controls, and publicly owned housing will be the means by which working class people will be able to secure housing as a human right.

Double D continues, moving on to satirize an article from USA Today, which outlines a "Landlord Self Defense Class" being taught by a Landlord Lobbying group named "Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles (AAGLA)." he quotes one of the instructors who says "In C*vid a lot of people lost their jobs, they lost their families, and the last thing they have is their house. You're taking the last thing they have. This is their worst day." Double D expresses horror out just how disconnected, just how inhumane the landholding class is. Noting their awarene

In this episode of his "Thinking Out Loud" series, Double D analyzes a host of source material, testimonies, and perspectives surrounding the East Palestine, Ohio, Train Derailment; with a focus on trying to have a productive dialogue concerning the real environmental and human impact of the crash.

Double D open the video by presenting viral clips concerning the event, showing supposedly contaminated snow falling in Ontario, personal air quality meter readings out of East Palestine, and creeks polluted by chemical run off. He asks his viewers to weigh these testimonies against the broader narrative coming from government institutions, while keeping a skeptical mind. He goes on to show videos of other testimonies coming from nightly news as well as national broadcasts, and shows how at this time, FEMA will not be stepping up to provide disaster relief. He also shows a tiktok video where apparently an environmental scientist is reading high levels of hydrochloric acid and phosgene in falling precipitation. He notes that FEMA's reason for intervening is rooted in "a question of liability, and who should be responsible for the crash, the Federal Government, or the rail company responsible for the disaster." He questions why this would even be an issue, suggesting that FEMA should be mobilizing to quickly clean up the disaster, with the question of liability and financing the cleanup to be sorted out later once the damage has been dealt with.

Next Double D shows EPA reports that are updated daily; they suggest that air readings in the community are safe, and that municipal wells are safe. Double D contrasts this with the video showing amateur readings in the area. He also points out that while wells may be safe now, that doesn't mean they will be in months or years to come; as chemicals that aren't cleaned up properly will leach into the ground water and potentially into creeks. He compares this possibility to the hexavalent chromium link in Hinkley, California, and to the long process of pollution in Iowa with Nitrates, Phosphates, and heavy metals leaching into the ground water from fertilizer spray.

Double D presents more information from several sources regarding vinyl chloride and the chemical byproducts that come from its burning. Scientists note hydrochloric acid, dioxins, and phosgene. The scientists also suggest, that while this chemicals could be a serious hazard for residents of East Palestine, they are unlikely to have long term ecological or health impacts in areas outside of the immediate region; due to their quickly diluting nature. They warn however, that those communities in the toxic plume's immediate vicinity could face complications for a long time to come, especially if the clean up process is not properly executed. Double D also rolls a clip from an interview with Erin Brockovich, who reiterates several of these same points, and who warns that the cleanup and mitigation process will be on going for a long time to come for the residents of East Palestine. Double D uses this information to suggest that, while this incident is certainly worse for the people living in the community than officials and much of the media is letting on, that larger claims of a seriously polluted Ohio River watershed, or a toxic plume capable of making people hundreds of miles away sick, is highly unlikely. He asks viewers to remember that while we do want to put a spotlight on corporate greed and abuse, we don't want to be guilty of spreading misinformation, or invoking hysteria.

Moving on Double D jumps in to more adjacent material. He attempts to discredit a claim that had been circulating online that USA Today Fact Checked information surrounding East Palestine because both Norfolk Southern and USA Today are owned by Black Rock Investment Group. He shows that while Black Rock does own a large percentage of Norfolk, USA Today is owned by SoftBank Japan, and that the relatively small amount of s

In this episode of his "Thinking Out Loud" series, Double D analyzes the causes and effects of the horrendous East Palestine, Ohio train derailment.
Double D jumps into the video by recapping some of the events surrounding the East Palestine incident. He outlines some of the catastrophe the train derailment caused, rolling video of the wreckage and showing time lapse photos of the spreading noxious cloud.

He then jumps in to a video where a journalist interviews a railroad union rep who, prior to the East Palestine incident, warned that "precision scheduled railroading (PSR)" was going to cause more derailments, including some that may end in catastrophe. The Union rep details the process of PSR, noting that staff, safety checks, and quality of service are all cut in order to secure more profits for the railroad corporations. The video goes on to show how Norfolk Southern responded to the crisis, sending no corporate executives to claim responsibility, instead forcing a rail worker to take the fall and answer the questions of an enraged public. Double D cements the fact that just weeks ago we we're having a national dialogue about the railroads, and that the very rail workers who were warning us of imminent disaster were coerced into accepting a congressionally mandated farce of a labor contract.

Moving on, Double D rolls video of a Reporter from News Nation being arrested by local police for attempting to do live coverage of the crisis. Double D uses this incident as an example of the limits put on freedom of speech and freedom of assembly within capitalist societies. He notes that these freedoms on not "rights" guaranteed by the government, rather they are "privilege's" that are taken away the instant they threaten capitalist interests or the status quo.

Next, Double D pulls up statistics from Norfolk Southern's corporate website that details their financials from the year 2022. He highlights a substantial gain in revenue and profits, and points out that these increases have occurred despite inflation and higher overhead costs. He points out that the company has blamed these higher costs on "network congestion" and "higher-compensation for workers", both of which Double D scoffs at; pointing out that the railroads "are the network and are responsible for their own congestion", and the fact that railroad companies have succeeded in quashing demands for higher compensation. He also exposes Norfolk Southern's $10 Billion Dollar stock buy back program which was moving forward as the company pushed to crush any bargaining with the union over safety regulations or benefits.

Double D goes on to elaborate on stock buy back programs as they relate to the hyper-financialized nature of U.S. Capitalism. He also discusses the notion of "externalities" within capitalist systems. And how in the corporate of cost-benefit analysis, things like industrial accident, displacement, ecological devastation, or disease are not factored into the spread sheet. Instead they are labelled as externalities, the cost of which is passed on to the public, a reality which is made crystal clear in the crisis facing East Palestine, Ohio.

Rounding off the video, Double D details how Norfolk Southern used it's massive profits to petitioned government to suppress safety regulations. He notes how after a $6 million dollar lobbying campaign, the company succeeded in NOT having updated breaking systems mandated by the government, allowing the company to persist in using breaking systems first implemented in 1868. He quotes safety experts and members of the Federal Rail Road Commission who stated that such updated breaking systems could've mitigated the disaster in East Palestine. He also notes how the Norfolk Southern Board of Executives shot down a shareholder mandate that would've forced the company to factor externalities into their cost benefit analysis. Double D uses these anecdotes to ruminate on the nature o

In this episode of the "Entitled Millennials" podcast, Double D sits down with comrade Colton Power of the YouTube channel AbcadeazCoffee to discuss issues surrounding policing.

Jumping in to the video, the pair discuss updates from Memphis protests surrounding the death of Tyre Nichols, highlighting new direct actions, the ongoing investigation of officer Preston Hemphill, and the news that the three EMT's who failed to provide adequate care for Tyre have been discharged. The two go on to discuss the well organized actions of activists and the response of the City of Memphis. They ask what this increased organization may mean for wider movements, and question if perhaps left leaning organizations have learned from the shortcomings of past spontaneous actions.

The two discuss what a post-policing, post-prison world may look like, with a focus on how public safety would be managed in the interim period. Colton brings the conversation back around to the issues of capitalism and imperialism, and reminds viewers not to fall complacent over general reforms, but to continue pushing for the deep systemic change that will be necessary to overcome police brutality. 

The two transition into a general discussion on police violence and gun violence and how the two issues intersect with the military industrial complex and the racist origins of policing. They examine the racist history of gun control, and debate the efficacy of such reforms when statistically such laws disproportionately effect people of color who carry arms to defend themselves again police or gangland violence.

The two go on to discuss the relationship between America's violent colonial history and it's contemporary gun culture. Double D draws a correlation between the emasculation and alienation of white working class males as a driving force behind fire arm fetishism, noting that as white workers had their capacity to provide for their families, as well as their sense of community and belonging destroyed, gun culture acted as a means to fill that emotional void. Colton adds that right wing online personalities have further exacerbated this trend as young men flock to hyper-masculine charlatans to cope with their own sense of alienation.

Moving on, Double D plays a video showing State Troopers clearing a path for the Proud Boys at an anti-trans rally in Memphis, he goes on to read a testimony from a Memphis activist who suggests that law enforcement may be collaborating with these right wing militias. The two use this instance as a chance to discuss the long history of police collaboration with white supremacist's organizations, touching on their complacency in the ousting of black politicians in the Reconstruction Era south as well as modern police departments origins in "slave catching squads."

Double D plays another video, depicting the shooting by police of double amputee Anthony Lowe. The two ruminate on the absolute horror and inhumanity of people who are willing to shoot someone having a clear mental health crisis. Double D suggests that this sort of callousness is endemic to capitalist, imperialist systems, and he suggests that their violence will only grow worse as the contradictions of capitalism sharpen, and as society as a whole continues to break down. Colton expressed disbelief at reactionary elements within society that fetishize policing, imploring them to understand that when the chips are down, the police will turn on you the same way they have people of color. He insists that people must understand that policing as it exists today is completely counter to the public interest.

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"CONGRESS DEBATES THE HORRORS OF SOCIALISM WHILE THE U.S. LIVES UNDER THE HORRORS OF CAPITALISM!"
In this episode of his "Thinking Out Loud" series, Double D discusses the farce of the House Resolution to condemn "The Horrors of Socialism."
Opening the video, Double D outlines some of the points made on the debate floor surrounding the resolution. Noting the absolute naivete and ignorance surrounding notions and perspectives concerning socialism.

He picks out Republican Representative from Florida, Maria Salazar's arguments. Noting that she insists that Socialism and Communism have been responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of people world wide. Double D scoffs at this notion, and points out that Salazar and other U.S. politicians conveniently ignore the massive death toll racked up by capitalist systems. He cites US chattel slavery, colonialism, apartheid, genocide, the rise of fascism, two world wars, and the perpetuation of wealth inequality as all being the violent legacy of capitalist systems.

He also dismisses Salazar's comments which insist that socialism inherently leads to totalitarianism. Double D notes that apologists for capitalism always ignore capitalism's predisposition to learn towards inverted totalitarianism, that is the dictatorship of capital, hiding behind the façade of democracy with the illusion of choice manifesting in the lie of corporate consumerism.

Double D moves on to dissect arguments from Democratic politicians. He condemns their willingness to engage in this political theater in order to garner clout from their more center-leaning constituents. He takes particular aim at Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who "condemned socialist autocrats" despite her notorious role in fixing the Democratic Primaries to prop up American autocrats such as the Clintons. He goes on to point out how even the most progressive of Democrats, including Ro Khanna, reject the idea of nationalization or moving beyond capitalism. He uses a video clip with Khanna's statements to suggest that even in the greatest upsurge of "progressive democratic revolution" the people of the U.S. will be left with little more than Band-Aid solutions to the existential crises being caused by capitalism. 

Double D ends this segment by pointing out the hypocrisy that is the root of capitalist arguments against socialism; he notes that the very horror stories promised to us if we dare to move down the path of socialism, is the very real horror we live with day to day under capitalist systems. He notes media narratives of "hard working or charitable Americans" which with just a few change of words, could be spun to portrait the supposed "horrors of socialism", including breadlines, homelessness, crumbling infrastructure, and shortages of basic goods.

Moving on from the floor debate, Double D examines some of the points made within the house resolution. He points out how many of its claims, centered around the supposed atrocities of socialist movements, are rooted in false narratives and cooked statistics that have been perpetuated by fascist sympathizers, the US state, and foundations that have questionable origins; citing the author of the infamous novel 'Gulag Archipelago' and the team that produced 'The Black Book of Communism.'

Double D highlights the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC). He examines the foundations founders, noting several Ukrainian Nationalists, fascist collaborators, and mouth pieces of big business; including the founder of the Heritage Foundation; an institutional supporter of U.S. imperial policy and advocate of corporatism.

Double D ends the video by discerning the ties between multinational corporations, the US intelligence community, fascist movements worldwide, and organizations like the VOC. He insists that we are all living in a multi-layered false reality that has been pushed upon us for generations by capitalists and other powe

In this episode of the "Entitled Millennials" podcast, Double D sits down with friend and comrade Colton of the YouTube channel AbcadeazCoffee to discuss the War in Ukraine and to ruminate on what the world may look like at the end of the proxy war in Ukraine. Colton is an autodidact on the war in Ukraine as well as other geo-political topics. He has recently elected to begin producing independent left media content.
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Double D and Colton discuss the brazen media lies surrounding the war in Ukraine, citing rehashed footage from past wars, the use of combat simulator video, and false narratives about the course of the war. They discuss also how the U.S. government lies, time after time, about their involvement in conflicts, as well as a complete aversion to proper diplomacy.
The pair discuss the political climate in Russia, the nature of the Putin regime, and they ruminate of political opinions within Russia towards the war, touching on the anti-war protests, demographic shifts, and statements from U.S. officials which have gradually changed the perspectives of many Russians regarding the war.
Moving in to the flesh of the discussion, Colton walks viewers through the course of the war, highlighting events, strategies, shifting geo-political concerns, and more. He outlines the nature of Russia's calculated retreat, past attempts at peace negotiation, as well as Ukraine's counter-offensives. Moving on, Colton ruminates on the current "ceasefire" noting that the counteroffensives failed to achieve their objectives, and suggesting that Russia is beginning to shift its war effort. Colton notes the mobilization effort in Russia, and the pair discuss that current Russian military objectives suggest a "greasing of the wheels" for what many analysts are claiming may be a "Spring Offensive."
The two go on to discuss where this new Spring Offensive may lead, while also ruminating on what the war as a whole may lead to. The two discuss several eventualities that either escalate the war in to a global conflict, or that bring the war to an end at the peace table.
Rounding off the video, the two discuss what revelations have been made as a result of this proxy war, noting the splintering of the global economy, the clear hollowing out of the U.S. and European economies, and the general shift towards a more regional, bipolar, or multipolar world.
Closing the video, the two stray into more personal topics, reflecting on the ways in which Late Empire and End Stage Capitalism have shaped their own lived experiences.

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In this episode of his "Thinking Out Loud" series, Double D examines the brutal police killing of Memphis native Tyre Nichols, with a focus on the activism surrounding the incident, as well as a broader discussion of police violence in the United States.

Opening the video, Double D laments the murder of another young person of color at the hands of militant police. He goes on to roll video from the murder of Tyre Nichols, asking apologists for police to reconcile the veracity and regularity of this sort of violence with the supposed "serve and protect" purpose of policing.

After the video, Double D points out that the supposed justification for the detainment which led to Tyre's murder was "reckless driving", moving on, Double D rolls video from after Tyre's beating which depicts officers laughing and joking around while bragging about how they had brutalized Tyre. After the video Double D comments on the gross level of "one-ups-man-ship" present in the officers dialogue, he shows this as a prime example of the sickening culture of dehumanization and moral justification which is the norm within police departments throughout the country.

Double D transitions away from the incident itself, and begins to examine the coalition building and tactics Memphis residents used to secure concessions from the police department as well as the city of Memphis. He highlights two organizations, "Memphis Community Safety Team" who acted and Marshalls for subsequent protests, and "Decarcerate Memphis" a more Anarchist leaning organization with a focus on anti-police, anti-prison-industrial-complex actions. He lauds the Memphis coalition for their thorough planning, efficiency, and dedication; and suggests that this sort of militant organizing amounts to the building blocks of a larger solidarity movement that could be capable of building a general strike.

He asks his viewers to imagine every local organization, left organization, and independent party united in a common action with a common list of demands organized in such a way that they could sustain a lasting general strike capable of winning systemic change. He points out that throughout history it has been this level of organizing which has taken moments of spontaneous uprising and turned them into actions of revolutionary system upheaval; he asks socialists, communists, and progressive elements to remember this lesson as they move forward with their mobilization efforts.

Double D reports status updates from a comrade on the ground, who details an action involving shutting down the 1-55 highway while maneuvering around antagonizing police as well as potentially reactionary elements. Double D uses this as an example as to why militant organization is the only way to carry out actions in an effective and efficient way capable of securing victory. He notes that the Memphis coalition succeeded in winning concessions, notably the discharge and arrest of five of the officers responsible, as well as the disbanding of the associated SCORPION police unit. Again Double D lauds this coalitions victories, but reminds his audience to be wary of reforms to an inherently pro-capitalist, pro-racist organization. He steers the dialogue around reform back to radical upheaval of systems, suggesting that their can be no lasting victory until we have achieved police and prison abolition, and have meaningfully begun the transition away from the capitalist modes of appropriation which create crime and policing in the first place.

Rounding off the video, Double D discusses the topic of racism as it applies to the instance of the Tyre Nichols murder. He touches on how right wing pundits and other reactionaries have touted the fact that Tyre died at the hands of black officers as an example that "race" has nothing to do with any issue surrounding policing. Double D acknowledges that race alone is not the only factor which creates violent policing, pointing ag